Looking back at my first year, there are a lot of things I wish someone had told me. Of course, all the mistakes you have made in the past make you a more experienced adult ("learn from your mistakes" is a saying for a reason). While everyone should make their own mistakes, I thought I'd help you out a little and learn from my mistakes. Saves you the energy. 

1. Doing your course work throughout the block (as one should) is really much better for your own personal gain. Once you pass a block after leaving everything till the last minute, you’ll feel invincible and decide that this is the way to go for the rest of your student life.

2. Don’t spend all your money on useless groceries, realize that eating with more people or cooking in bulk is much more efficient (time-wise and financially)

3. Register for your courses on time, don’t be that person who has to email your study advisors asking if you can be signed up later because of [enter bad excuse for why you haven’t signed up yet].

4. You’re going to change a lot in your first year, as will the people around you. So you might stray away from the people who fit with you perfectly in your first year, and this might be alarming and scary at first, but in the end, you’ll realize that it’s for the best.

5. Pay your bills when you get them. Leaving the 60 euro fine for not having lights on your bike or the 5 euro tikkie for a week really doesn’t help your cause. Don’t be that person who everyone has to ask multiple times to pay them back.

6. Try to sit next to different people (so not the same 3 every class), at a certain point one of you might not pass a course and then you’ll be alone. Or maybe your friends will choose different classes in your second year. Branch out and make new friends from your course, it’ll help when you set up a LinkedIn account and need connections!

7. Enjoy the days you actually have a class to go to. I had 12 contact hours in my first year and now, as I am writing this, I only have 2. On the one hand, this is great, because only 2 hours, on the other hand, it sucks because you still have to do the same workload, without anyone’s guidance. 

8. Call your parents, and not only when you need something (but also when you need something)

 9. Buy a tool kit and learn how to use it. Become that strong independent person you should be. You’ll be embarrassed later in your student life when you have to watch a Youtube video on how to use a power drill.

10. Learn how to open your own beers. It's a skill I wish I had mastered in my first year.